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New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA: Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., and Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, co-chairs of Prosecutors Against Gun Violence, today released the following joint statement urging the U.S. State Department to block the online release of blueprints for do-it-yourself, 3D-printed guns:

“In a matter of days, the State Department is preparing to allow unlimited online access to schematic designs that enable 3D printing of untraceable guns. In a complete reversal of longstanding regulatory oversight, the State Department has decided to provide a special exemption to a private company, Defense Distributed, to post its gun blueprints online.

“No one is safer if criminals can print untraceable guns on demand. Allowing this exemption from federal rules would be an unconscionable mistake, making it all-too-easy for anyone with a dangerous history – including terrorists and domestic abusers who cannot pass a background check – to download files and print a functional gun with 3D printers available to any consumer. This decision undermines the critical public safety laws that prosecutors enforce day in and day out.

“Invisible to metal detectors, these plastic guns could easily be smuggled onto airplanes, and into concerts, festivals, and government buildings. Untraceable, they would undermine the work of law enforcement by crippling criminal investigations before they even began. The State Department must not allow this company to have a special exemption to these rules. These blueprints should not be published under any circumstances.”